January 18, 2012

Here's a discussion over in the Isthmus forum — "Who should run in the recall?" — where Meade asks:

Can someone help me understand the resistance to and animosity toward Kathleen Falk expressed here?

While serving as Dane county executive, she was able to negotiate with the unions and get them to collectively bargain for a reduction in salaries and health benefits that resulted in a savings to taxpayers of nearly $10 million. Isn't she just the sort of governor Democrats need in order to show that collective bargaining for public sector employees leads to reduced job losses and balanced budgets?

The forum folk don't really want to get their heads around that question, which is actually quite devious.

For those who don't read, it's a riff on the Dinkins/Bradley Effect which gives the whole enterprise the same feel as Wile E Coyote realizing the light at the end of the tunnel is an oncoming train and all he can do is hold up a sign saying, "Stop! In the name of humanity!".

I tried to post this before but it never showed up, so I'll try again.

If another Dem declares, there will be a Dem primary. Tom Barrett is still thinking about running. He said a few weeks ago that he hadn't signed a recall petition and wasn't sure he would, but if he didn't, no doubt someone signed for him.

Nice try equating the governor to the fleebaggers, Garage, but big fail.

Kathleen Falk should embrace the Grey. That hair color is not working for her.

I think an ambitious - but state-wide unknown Democrat -- should instead run for Lt. Governor. Even though she was elected in a statewide office, I'm not sure how good a candidate she is (that is, would she have been elected in any other year but 2010?)

If I ran for Lt. Gov, I'd run on a platform of rewriting the Constitution to eliminate the position (and the Secy of State). Talk about anachronisms that waste money. That would put the incumbent in the position of having to defend what she does, which ain't much.

The idea of a recall election in the abstract, with no declared candidate, is a lot different from the actuality of having candidates who have to come up with some kind of a platform apart from "Scott Walker is eeeeevil, wahwahwah!"

There may be signatures from all 72 counties. So what? What really matters is how many of them are valid, and how many people will come out to vote.

"Kathleen Falk's announcement today comes as no surprise, as we have long anticipated she would be the nominee hand-picked by big-government, public employee union bosses. Falk has already lost two statewide elections, failing to earn the trust of Wisconsin voters. Governor Walker's record of success and progress will stand in stark contrast to Falk's intent to take Wisconsin back to the days of record job loss, massive deficits, and double digit tax increases.

Falk's record as Dane County executive falls in lockstep with a Madison liberal ideology that is far outside the mainstream of the majority of Wisconsinites."

Nailed it.

And pleeeeze, let there be a multi-candidate primary. Pleeeeze pleeeze!

I think results from Falk's tenure as Dane County executive match or exceed Walker's tenure in Milwaukee County. So it's not like Walker et al can attack that part of her record, so of course they'll just say Dane County = Bad.

"MadisonMan said...I think results from Falk's tenure as Dane County executive match or exceed Walker's tenure in Milwaukee County. So it's not like Walker et al can attack that part of her record, so of course they'll just say Dane County = Bad."

Seriously? In a decade of both high employment and local growth in the tax base...she raised taxes 7.9%. The like Doyle she bailed out because of the need for an additional tax increase.

"MadisonMan said...Scott Walker "only" had people embezzling from Veterans. I don't see how he can use that to his advantage."

This puts you in moron land.

Although this has been discussed more than once here....Walkers administration found out about this and started the investigation. So this is a positive.

On the other hand, he cleaned about a million dollar Democratic pension scandal, and balanced the Milwaukee County budget without raising taxes every year as a county exec. This with a hostile Democratic county board.